You Can't Hurt Me
by Junjou-DeathNote
Summary: AU. Secrets are bound to get discovered sooner or later, right? So when it seems like the new kid, Glenn, has one, can Daryl uncover it? More importantly, can he handle it's intensity? Daryl/Glenn Rated M for later scenes and swears etc. etc.
1. Chapter 1

**New story for me! Yeah, another Walking Dead fic, hehe, I love this shit :)**

**All right, quick intro, this story will start off at the CDC. It's an AU. Glenn has a secret, and Daryl will want to know. That's all I'm saying :p Less than a month until this show starts up again, finally! I've been waiting forever! :| But this story will mostly take place in a season 2 setting. Mostly. Well, the majority of it. **

**So, enjoy the story! Reviews make me happy, so it's be nice if you did so! Follows and favorites are also very nice. :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Walking Dead.'**

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Chapter 1

It was awkward for Daryl to be squished against his fellow survivors in the CDC's elevator. They were all shocked yet thankful that this man known as Dr. Edwin Jenner let them into the safety of the CDC. He said they were going to get some blood test to make sure they weren't infected. Daryl didn't really care about needles and shit, there were any walkers around, they were finally safe.

Well, at least for the moment they were.

The same couldn't be said for his brother Merle. Fuck, his brother! Rick, some new sheriff guy, handcuffed his brother to the roof! Left him to die! Of course Daryl was pissed! How else was he supposed to react? Was he supposed to jump for joy and not give a shit? It was Merle! Even if he was a stupid asshole, he was his fucking brother!

So he persuaded Rick and the bastard who dropped the key in the first place, T-Dog, to go fetch him. All they found were blood and a lifeless hand. Daryl never felt more pissed off in his life, his hate urging him to kill T-Dog, but he couldn't. He wasn't like that, besides, Rick pointed the gun to his head, and so what choice did he have? They found the bag of guns in the street pretty easily and were going back when the screams of camp pierced through the night. The camp was being attacked by walkers. They came in and saved the remaining survivors. The only ones left were Rick's family, Shane, old man Dale, the black woman Jaqui, that mom and her daughter, the Peletier's, Jim and Andrea.

Then Jim was found with a bite. Daryl's instinct screamed at him to kill him before he turns, but the two buddy cops said no. They wanted to go to check out the CDC. Daryl thought it wasn't smart, that place was so far, and would Jim even make it?

No, no he didn't make it. They ended up ditching him beside the highway. Daryl gave the guy a brief look of pity before leaving. Daryl barely knew the guy, hell, he barely knew any of these people! Why should he care about him? They all hated Merle! They left him to die! _These people aren't my fucking problem!_

The elevator doors opened. Immediately, everyone scampered out, being pressed against one another wasn't appealing for them either. Jenner motioned for them to follow. "This way, for the blood tests." Jenner said. Everyone filed behind him and began walking. The hallways were small and tight, but the place itself was odd to Daryl. It seemed to be the only place untouched by the devastation of the apocalypse.

"Are we underground?" Carol, the woman with short hair and mother of Sophia asked, her voice sounding a bit frail.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner inquired.

"A little." Carol murmured.

"Try not to think about it." He advised. They were led into a vast dark room, with computers and desks and a giant screen. "Vi, turn on the lights in the main room."

The lights switched on. "Where are the other doctors? The staff?" Rick asked Jenner.

Jenner gave him a sad look. "You're looking at him."

"What about Vi? The one you were talking to just a moment ago?" Lori asked.

"Vi," Jenner said in a loud, commanding voice, "Greet our guest, tell them, 'Welcome.'"

"Welcome, guests." A monotone, female computerized voice said. The survivors looked at one another.

"I'm all that's left." Jenner said somberly. The group members gave him looks of sadness, while Daryl just rolled his eyes and looked in the other direction.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Daryl saw movement just behind the doorway the came through. Daryl instantly turned around, his crossbow up and pointed. The other survivors stared at Daryl, uncomprehendingly. Jenner let out a shaky intake of breath. The figure shuffled behind the doorway. Daryl stepped closer, trying to catch a glimpse of the person hiding. "Show yourself!" Daryl snarled, expecting a walker.

Slowly, the figure emerged from his hiding place. Everyone gawked at the newcomer. It wasn't a walker. It was a boy, no not a boy, a young man! An Asian boy wearing a red baseball cap and informal clothing walked towards them, his body quivering. He was sweating and looking at Daryl's crossbow nervously. "I-I'm friendly! I work with Dr. Jenner! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" The boy said with fear in his voice.

"You're all that's left?" Rick quoted Jenner with a raised eyebrow. Jenner sighed.

"He's just my assistant, don't mind him." Jenner stomped towards the boy. "He was supposed to stay in my office until I was certain you people weren't hostile, but he can't take orders well." He gave the Asian a stern look. The boy shrugged.

"Sorry, just wanted to check it out." He mumbled.

Jenner just sighed again. "This is Glenn Rhee. He's been my assistant for just a few months, a few weeks before this apocalypse."

"Well, it's nice to meet you two." Rick said politely.

"Since you're here Glenn, you night as well help me with the blood samples, okay?"

"Okay." Glenn said. He gave Daryl a wary glance, "Can you lower that thing now please?"

Daryl hadn't even noticed that his crossbow was still up, pointing at the Glenn's head. "Sorry." He muttered.

"No problem." Glenn gave him a soft grin before he and Jenner led the way to another room.

* * *

Everyone was actually happy for once. (Well, except Andrea, who was still moping over the loss of her sister.) The while group was laughing and drinking and having an actual decent meal for once. It was like a world with no walkers, it felt so safe, it felt unreal.

Dale, Rick, Shane and Lori were arguing a bit about Carl drinking the wine, Carol and Sophia were just quietly laughing one another, T-Dog was just taking shot after shot, and Daryl started goading Glenn to drink.

"I want to see how red your face can get!" Daryl sneered.

"Challenge accepted!" Glenn laughed, and took the cup from Daryl's hand. Without hesitation he gulped the entire glass in one shot. He poured himself another and drank it all too. Daryl laughed.

"Chinaman's getting wasted tonight!" Daryl hooted, clearly feeling the buzz of intoxication at the back of his head.

"I'm Korean, dumbass!" Glenn said, smiling.

Dr. Jenner seemed to be just standing off to the side, watching them all have a good time while he just stood there watching. Rick took notice of that and tapped his glass. Everyone turned their attention to the sheriff. "It seems to me that we haven't thanked our host properly. I want to propose a toast, to the man who saved our lives tonight." Rick declared.

"Hear hear!" T-Dog called from his seat.

Rick smiled at the man, and Jenner just smiled plainly back and clinked glassed with him. The entire group cheered. Shane coughed a bit, interrupting the celebration. "So doc, when are you going to tell us what the hell happened to this place?"

The group went quiet. Jenner looked around at the group. "As the outbreak began, most people when to their loved ones, their families, to be with them. The government system fell, so without protection, they left." He explained. "They didn't want to stay here. They had to know what happened to their loved ones."

"Most of them left? What about the others?" Lori questioned.

"Most of them. Some of them couldn't face walking out the door. They opted out."

A silence swept over the group. "You didn't leave." Rick said.

"I stayed because I hoped to do some good." Jenner replied. "Glenn too."

"I had to stay!" Glenn cried from his seat, "I couldn't leave Dr. Jenner here by himself, I decided to stay with him here. Help solve this thing!"

"Didn't you want to be with your family?" Rick asked.

Dr. Jenner looked away. "No... They're dead. Gone. The walkers..." He trailed off, grief clouding his eyes.

Glenn fidgeted as Rick and the others looked at him expectantly, "My family moved back to Korea a while back. I chose to stay here. I don't know what happened to them."

An awkward silence hung in the air. T-Dog sighed, glaring at Shane. "Way to kill the party." He muttered. Shane glared back angrily.

"Well, it's been a long night, and you all must be getting tired. Glenn will show you all to your rooms. Don't use too much of the electricity, and if you take a shower, go easy on the hot water. I'll be in my office if you need me. Well, good night then." Dr. Jenner waved and walked away.

Daryl could see the Grime's kid turn to his parents and grow a huge grin. "Did he say hot water?"

Rick and Lori smiled back and ruffled his hair. Glenn smiled at the scene. "All right, I'll show you to your rooms now."

One by one, each survivor got to their room. Daryl was the last one to get his. He and Glenn were walking down the hallway. "The last room's just at the end of the hall." Glenn said. Daryl gave the kid a good look while they walked. He wasn't the strong, bulky type. He seemed more like a lithe, agile creature, like the squirrels he hunted. The baseball cap on his head made him look younger, maybe by a year, and his childish little grins made him shine with youth. Daryl felt like he was the complete opposite of the kid, he was strong and old, but pretty experienced, more than this kid.

Daryl noticed on the young Asian's shoulder, just through the fabric of his shoulder, a bandage. Not like a little one when you get a small scratch. This was a nice, patched-up square sticking onto his shoulder's skin. _Huh, how did happen?_

"Well, here we are. This is your room. The bathroom's just over there and there are extra blankets and pillows just in that closet if you need any." Glenn said. "You good?"

"Yeah, probably." Daryl replied, "Hey kid, mind if I ask you something?"

Glenn blinked, "Uh, yeah sure. What is it?"

Daryl pointed at Glenn's bandaged shoulder. "What happened there? Got into trouble or something?"

Glenn took a glance at his shoulder and gave out an uneasy laugh, effectively raising Daryl's suspicion by fifty percent. "Oh yeah... That's nothing really, just an accident while helping Jenner move some heavy boxes. Yeah, uh, so I'll be on my way. See you later, Daryl." With that, the boy swiftly fled from Daryl. Daryl stared after him, feeling a little confused and suspicious. _What the hell's his problem?_

* * *

Daryl should've known it was too good to be true. He should've known that this place wasn't as safe as it seemed.

They had ten minutes before the entire place was going to blow up. Only ten minutes, and the crazy bastard Jenner had just locked them in with him. The two mothers' were holding their sobbing children in their arms, huddled on the floor, fear evident in their wide eyes. Dr. Jenner was trying to convince them that this was for the best. The men looked numb, too shell-shocked for words. Jaqui and Andrea had blank faces, stating earlier that they agreed with Jenner, and wanted to stay too, and Glenn was squirming, looking at Dr. Jenner with shock in his eyes. Daryl decided to confront him over the situation.

"Did you fucking know this would happen?" Daryl growled. Glenn backed away from him.

"I had no idea! I thought the clock was just counting down the generators fuel supply! I swear! I had no idea that we would... We would just explode! "

Glenn's words sounded genuine to Daryl so he slowly backed off. Glenn looked back at Dr. Jenner, a look of disbelief plastered on his face. Rick was talking to him, trying to convince him to open the doors. Daryl felt like he had enough of this crap. He picked up an axe from the floor.

"You piece of shit!" Daryl snarled, raising the axe to Jenner's head. Shane and Rick quickly grabbed Daryl and held him back. Rick took the axe from Daryl's grasp.

"We can't kill him!" Rick hissed into his ear. Daryl scowled but said nothing.

Glenn looked at the three men. "I'll talk to him, all right? Maybe I can convince him."

"Good luck." Daryl snorted. Glenn ignored Daryl's words.

The three men watched as Glenn hesitantly approached his boss. "Sir, you have to let them leave."

"Glenn, you know what'll happen out there? They'll die! I'm giving them a chance to take an easy, painless way out. You too Glenn."

"I have to leave too." Glenn said in a strong voice. "You know I have to leave, that I can't stay here. Please. If there's some sort of government protection or military or anything, I'll get their safely. I'll be safe. Please, sir. You know me. I have to leave. Please."

Daryl, Shane and Rick held their breath as Jenner gave the boy an anguished look. "But, there's no hope. No hope at all Glenn. What we've done, what we're doing, what you want to do, it's foolish. There is no hope."

"Let me confirm that with my own eyes." Glenn said boldly. "Sir, please. Let us go."

Dr. Jenner stared at his assistant for a long time, his gaze unreadable. "Fine." He said, "But you promise me that you'll be safe."

"I will." Glenn breathed. Dr. Jenner took out something from his doctor's coat. He placed it in Glenn's palms. It was a small silver chain necklace. There was a small locket, just half the size of a cell phone, attached to the chains. It was shaped like a test tube. Glenn gave Jenner a surprised look. Jenner just smiled.

"Be safe." Jenner whispered. He walked over to his computer and pressed a few buttons. The metal doors immediately opened. Glenn gave Jenner a small smile.

"Thank you." He said. He then turned to the others. "Come on! We have four minutes! Let's go!" Everyone ran after Glenn, except for Andrea and Jaqui, much to Dale's dismay as he began talking to them desperately.

Rick, Shane and Daryl looked at Jenner. "Thank you for this chance." Rick said gratefully.

Dr. Jenner gave them an ice cold stare. "You keep Glenn safe. Don't let him die. Bring him somewhere safe. He can save everyone." His voice had a serious and quiet tone and his eyes were narrowed. He seemed crazier that way as he spat out the last words. "You understand?"

The three men just stared at Jenner in shock, unable to understand fully what he said. "What do you he can save everyone?" Rick asked, bewildered.

Lori suddenly came out of nowhere and pulled her husband away, "Rick, we have to go!" She cried. Shane and Rick gave the scientist a look before following after her. Daryl eyed the doctor sceptically.

"He's the only one who can help you." He said gravely. His intensity in his gaze and the force in his voice were so strong it sent a shiver crawling up the Dixon's spine. Daryl began to run after the group, away from the crazy bastard. Dr. Jenner yelled from behind him.

"Keep him safe!" He yelled after Daryl, his voice bouncing off the walls, echoing into Daryl's ears.

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**So chapter one, done. Chapter two coming soon. :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Finally I finished this chapter! It takes me awhile to write now because of school, homework and I just started volunteering, so I don't have a lot of time to do this. Plus I have to write my other stories. :( Sorry guys.**

**So, enjoy this chapter! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Walking Dead'.**

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Chapter 2

"I don't like him" Shane hissed softly. Daryl, Rick and Shane were at the edge of the highway together, a little far off from the group. The others were scavenging the deserted place, a 'graveyard', as Lori called it. There were high tensions in the group right now that Daryl could see, first was Andrea and Dale and her suicide attempt. Andrea was pissed on how Dale intervened with her choice. It was funny, Daryl thought, how Dale fought so hard to save Andrea, but not as much for Jaqui, who died alongside Jenner. Then there was something unspoken, something troubling between Rick, Lori and Shane, something off, Daryl noticed. Finally, there was distrust sparking towards the new guy, Glenn, the assistant of the crazy bastard that tried to kill them all. Glenn tried to fit in with them, offering to scout ahead or take care of the kids, but the group just pushed him aside, paranoid, as if Glenn were some rabid wolf and they were helpless mice within his reach, and who could blame them? Glenn could be just as unhinged as Jenner was. Glenn was the reason all three men were huddled at the highway, discussing quietly. Only the three of them heard Dr. Jenner's words about Glenn, and they saw no reason to tell the rest of the group yet, not unless Glenn was causing trouble for them.

"He's important." Rick answered Shane's remark. "Dr. Jenner wanted us to protect him, he said he could save us."

"He also said that killing ourselves was the best answer! Fuck Rick, we shouldn't have trusted Jenner, why the hell should we trust his assistant? They're both crazy as hell." Shane argued.

"The kid didn't ask suspicious to me." Daryl said. The two men turned to him, a little surprised that the redneck was speaking up. Daryl continued, "I talked the kid a bit, he didn't seem too odd, except, he had some bandage on him, just on his shoulder. I asked about it and he got real defensive over it."

"That could mean something." Rick murmured. "And what about that locket Jenner gave Glenn? Could that mean something too?" Rick wondered.

"Maybe." Shane huffed, "But are we actually let him staying with us? He may seem nice, but he could backstab us at any moment. We have to keep an eye on him."

"You're right." Rick said, "We should." He looked at Daryl. "Could you watch him? Report to us if he does something odd or suspicious?"

As much as Daryl wanted to refuse to stalk the Asian, he couldn't help but feel a little interested about what the kid was hiding, the supposed 'life-saving' secret. Besides, he's a hunter, and the best thing a hunter can do is stalk his prey. And he also didn't have anything better to do, so why not?

"Sure, I'll do it." Daryl said. Rick and Shane gave him a pleased nod and they all three of them walked back to the highway.

Rick went to check on Dale who was taking watch up on top of the R.V. Shane went over towards Lori. Daryl sighed, _Well, I guess I better I find the kid._ He looked around. Carol, Sophia and Carl were looking at clothes at the back of cars, Andrea was busy tinkering with her gun in the R.V... But where the hell was the new guy?

_Ah, there he is! _Glenn was standing at the edge of the highway, staring into the forest, squinting up his tiny eyes making them look even tinier, as if he were looking for something in the thick woodland. The same silver locket Jenner gave him was wrapped loosely around his neck. Daryl noticed how the kid never let go of that locket, it was always around his neck, never off. _What's so special about it?_

There was also a crumpled piece of paper was clenched in his fist. The kid was too focused on whatever he was thinking about to notice Daryl approaching him. "What are ya looking for kid? Need help finding something?"

Glenn nearly jumped, startled by Daryl's presence. "Um, no, I just, I was looking, that's all!" He stammered, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. Daryl rolled his eyes at his pathetic attempt.

"You ain't good at lying kid." Daryl informed him.

Glenn puffed in frustration. "Well sorry if I don't have the best poker face." His expression darkened. "No one here actually likes me, right?"

Daryl thought carefully for a moment. "They don't know you well, so for now, they don't trust you." Daryl finally answered, saying the words slowly and carefully, "But with time, they'll grow used to you."

Glenn scoffed. "Yeah, sure, like they did with you." Daryl narrowed his eyes at his sassy remark. Glenn continued, nervously brushing off Daryl's glare. "B-But it's because I worked with Jenner, isn't it? I was his assistant, and he nearly killed all of you. Is it because of that?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Daryl said, "Why don't ya ask them yourself?"

Glenn sighed. "I just don't feel like I belong with you guys. I'd rather leave this group and travel by myself, you know?"

_Like hell I'll let you leave! _

"Are you that stupid?" Daryl hissed. "You ain't going to make it by yourself! What about walkers? What about when you run into hordes of them? What if you get bit? What if you get stuck? You need a group to watch your back, dumbass."

"But none of these people even like me!" Glenn said in frustration, stomping his foot, as if that would add emphasis to his point. He crossed his arms, the crumpled paper still tight in his hand. Daryl took a quick glance at it and immediately just snatched it from his hands with ease. The boy's eyes widened. "Hey, give it back!"

Daryl pushed him aside, and opened up the paper. It was a map of Georgia and its surrounding states. Certain cities were highlighted with a bright yellow highlighter. Daryl snorted, throwing aside the paper. It fell to the ground. As Glenn scrambled to pick it up, Daryl mocked him, "Are you fucking kidding me? Like you'll even make it that far without someone to cover your yellow ass! You ain't going to make it far kid!"

"Don't you want to too?" Glenn asked suddenly, standing back up.

"What are you talking about?"

"I've seen the way this group treats you." Glenn said, "You're in the same situation like me, right? You don't want to be here, but you stay. Why?"

Daryl scowled. "I have family." He snarled. "He's going to come back, to this group, eventually. So I'm staying here until then."

Glenn frowned, but his eyes shone with understanding. "Well okay then. But I'm still leaving. I don't belong here."

Daryl snorted. "You won't last one day out there by yourself."

"Want to bet?" Glenn challenged. "You haven't seen how good I am out here. You think staying indoors all nice and cozy at the CDC made me soft? Too weak for this new world?" Glenn scoffed, "Ever since this started, Dr. Jenner and I have been training with guns and survival tactics and crap like that just in case something were to happen to us. I've seen walkers Daryl, we've experimented on them, had test subjects, I know what they're capable of and I know that I can handle it."

"You ever killed any before?" Daryl asked darkly. Glenn didn't answer, he just looked away. "I thought so." Daryl muttered.

Glenn let out a frustrated sigh, "Whatever, it doesn't matter to you, I'm leaving."Glenn began to make his way out into the forest but before he could Daryl roughly grabbed him by the wrist. Glenn's eyes widened at Daryl's sudden action. Daryl pulled him in close until his mouth was near Glenn's ear.

"You ain't going nowhere Short Round." Daryl snarled softly, his hot breath warming the boy's ear. Cold venom leaked from his words, making the young boy tremble. "You're staying here, and you ain't leaving for shit, you got that?"

Glenn shivered as he pulled away from Daryl, rubbing his ear as if Daryl had spit in it. "W-Why do you want me to stay? Why do you care?" Glenn asked.

Daryl was about to respond dryly when they both suddenly saw Rick ran past them, loudly whispering at them. "Hide! Walkers are coming!"

Daryl whipped his head to the front of the highway. He felt a cold trickle of dread splash down his back. A giant horde of walkers were shambling towards them, at least a thousand. Glenn gasped, "Holy fuck..." He whimpered.

"Move your ass now!" Daryl harshly shoved him backwards, towards the cars, where they could at least his under them until they swept through. Not even Daryl could take out this fucking mess of the undead.

Glenn and Daryl made their way to some cars, roomy enough for them to hide under. Daryl was about to scoot under one when Glenn let out a sharp yet hushed cry of pain. Daryl stared at the kid. His left arm got cut by an open car door, fresh blood beginning to seep out of the wound. A stray walker scented the blood, for he started to shuffle towards the bleeding Asian.

Glenn didn't even seem to notice the walker, he was too busy with his wound. He had taken a bandanna from his backpack and had wrapped it around the still-bleeding injury. He flinched, biting his lip.

Daryl cursed under his breath before he circled behind a few cars to catch the walker by surprise from behind. One quick stab to the head and the walker collapsed, dead for good.

Glenn eyes grew owlish as he saw Daryl kill the walker, as if he just noticed this all now. Glenn opened his mouth to say something but Daryl put a dirt covered finger over his own mouth. "Sshhh." He softly whispered. Glenn just nodded, his eyes wide and terrified.

Daryl could see that more walkers were roaming towards them, and Glenn seemed to be in too much pain to scoot under the car quickly. Rushing Daryl grabbed the corpse he just killed in one hand, and grabbed Glenn's shirt collar gently on the other. Glenn gasped, wincing a little.

"Hush up kid, I'm helping you here." Daryl said quietly. He made Glenn lie flat on the ground and then plopped the corpse on him. Glenn squinted and gagged, looking as if he were going to throw up.

"Daryl! I can't-"

"I said to hush up!" Daryl snapped quietly. He grabbed a nearby dead body and fell to the ground, the body squishing him against the floor like a sandwich.

Ever so slowly, walkers limped past them, quiet groans escaping their rotten or chewed-up lips. They didn't seem to notice Glenn or Daryl, lying still on the pavement. Daryl took a glance at Glenn, whose blood flowing from the wound was beginning to cease, but a faint crimson stain formed around his shoulder. Glenn was beginning to sweat, fear beginning to show in his dark chocolate eyes as the walkers continued to march by them, completely unaware of their presence.

Eventually after a good five or ten minute, they all seemed to have left. They both waited a moment for any spare walkers to stumble past them, but none did. Daryl sighed, heaving the dead body off of his chest. He walked over to Glenn and kicked the dead body off of him. He picked Glenn up by the collar, which made the younger man gasp out in pain.

"Are you good?" Daryl asked, checking the wound on his arm. He grabbed his arm. Daryl was surprised on how thin and bony his arm felt. Besides that, the wound had stopped bleeding, but blood caked it. It seemed pretty deep, it still smelled fresh and when Daryl moved it Glenn let out a tiny gasp of pain.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Glenn mumbled quickly, wrenching his arm away from Daryl.

"Bullshit." Daryl said, "That shits serious! You got to get it checked."

"I worked with Jenner, I can fix it myself!" Glenn yelped, a hint of panic edging his voice as he took a few steps away from Daryl. Daryl blinked in surprise at his reaction, why was the chink acting like this?

A scream tore through the air, the scream of a young girl. Daryl and Glenn watched in shock as Sophia Peletier, Carol's daughter, slid down the side of the highway and ran into the forest, wailing and crying out in fear. Two walkers were right behind her, limping quickly towards the defenceless girl. They both watched, paralyzed, as they disappeared into the thick undergrowth.

Quickly, Rick Grimes escaped from his hiding place and ran after them. He disappeared into the forest. Carol followed suit, her eyes beginning to stream with tears. The only thing that stopped her from dashing into the forest to save her little girl was Lori, who clung onto her and made sure she stayed with the group. Carl, Shane, Dale and Andrea followed after them, watching intently, fear flickering through their eyes.

"Lori! Those two walkers are after my little girl!" Carol cried, shaking.

"Its okay, it's okay." Lori comforted, "Rick will find her, Rick will save her!" Lori held Carol close as she buried her head into Lori's shoulder and begin to sob.

Daryl backed away from the two ladies, giving them some space. He refocused on Glenn. He had put back the bandanna on his arm to use as a bandage. His face seemed very bleak, void of hope yet full of despair.

"You okay?" Daryl asked cautiously. Glenn just shook his head and took a step back.

"I don't want to stay here. I'm leaving." He said blankly, clearly affected by what happened to Sophia.

"You fucking pansy." Daryl growled, making the Asian gawk at him in shock. "You can't handle this? This kind of messed up shit happens all the time now! You may have trained with Jenner on how to deal with this shit, but he didn't train you to deal with _this kind_ of shit. Grow a pair."

Glenn just stared at Daryl, looking unsure what to say. For an awkward moment, Glenn just stood there stupidly, unable to react. When he finally opened his mouth to reply, that was when Rick emerged from the forest.

"Where is she?!" Carol cried when she realized that her daughter was nowhere near Rick.

"She disappeared." Rick murmured sadly, "I told her to hide in this thick bush, but when I got back, she was gone."

Carol let out a soft moan and stumbled backwards, away from Rick. Rick came forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry." He said, looking at her fondly.

"How could you?" Carol hissed, her voice vibrating in harsh anger, "How could you just leave her all alone out there? She's just a little girl!" Before anyone could say anything to the grieving mother, she just pushed Rick away and stomped away into the R.V, another sob growing in her throat.

Rick looked over at the group, his gaze full of anguish. "I'm going to look again for her. Daryl," Rick addressed the redneck with a pleading yet stern look, "Come with me. You're our best tracker and you have experience."

He sighed. "Sure." Daryl said, walking towards him. He gave Glenn a glare before joining Rick.

"You're in charge, Shane!" Rick called before he and Daryl set off to look for the missing girl.

Daryl hid his awkwardness around other people in a suit of roughness. Acting like a cold badass and snapping at every remark he found stupid. So when he was out with Rick, all he did was wear a glare on his face and kept his crossbow up and ready, poised for any walkers around the area.

"How's Glenn?" Rick asked, looking at Daryl. Daryl looked away, the angry stare still in his eyes.

"He's acting stupid." Daryl muttered. "Telling me how he wants to leave the group and that no one here actually likes him and he can't handle the crap we deal with." Daryl sighed in annoyance. "Plus, he got pretty damn protective when I asked about his wound and checked on it."

"Wound?" Rick repeated.

"Yeah, he got caught on the sharp end of a car door and bled out for a bit. It stopped bleeding but it seemed painful for him, but he told me he could fix it himself, that he had experience or something." Daryl explained.

"We should still check it out." Rick insisted, "Dale has experience with wounds, he worked as a doctor. He'll know what to do. Tell Dale to check on Glenn later on. As for him wanting to leave..." Rick thought for a moment, "We have to let him fit in, give him a chance to actually be a part of the group, stop excluding him, you know? Give him a purpose."

"Whatever." Daryl said. He spotted some tracks on the forest floor, small footsteps, about the size of a child.

"I found her tracks." Daryl said, letting some triumph invade his voice.

* * *

They both got back to the highway. They were gone for probably an hour or so, considering how fast the sun moved while they searched. Sophia seemed to have disappeared, not even leaving a hint of where she went. They opened up a walker and checked if it ate the girl, (it amused Daryl how disgusted and freaked out the Grime's face was while he did it!) but there was nothing to prove that it did.

Rick looked defeated by the loss of the girl. He gave Daryl a weary nod before setting off to find his own family. Daryl noticed Dale standing at the door of the R.V, looking at Andrea with a somber look, who was talking to Shane a little far-off. Daryl searched around for Glenn, praying that he didn't actually wander off somewhere. He felt some relief when he found Glenn just sitting on the hood of one of the cars, the same bleak look on his face. Daryl held back an annoyed grunt before making his way towards Dale.

"Hey old man." Daryl bumped Dale's shoulder with his fist. The elderly man looked at Daryl with surprise, not that Daryl could blame him for that, he and Dale never really speak to one another.

"Do you need something?" He inquired.

"Yeah, Korea over there scratched himself pretty bad on a car and was bleeding out. Rick wants ya to check on him, see if he's okay."

"He scratched himself on car?" Dale gasped, "That's dangerous! It could get infected and he could die, no joke. Yeah, I'll look at him really quick."

"Whatever." Daryl said dryly. Dale and Daryl swiftly went to Glenn's side. When Glenn saw them approaching, he looked startled, afraid even, as he jumped off the hood of the car to stand in front of the two men. "Hey guys, is something wrong?" He asked, chuckling nervously.

"I heard you hurt yourself, do you want me to check your wound?" Dale asked politely, but Daryl could hear that strain in his voice, the distrust glimmering in his eyes.

"No, its fine, I'm fine now. Dr .Jenner taught me how to fix up stuff like this!" Another nervous chuckle escaped Glenn's lips.

"I'm a certified doctor Glenn, it wouldn't hurt for me to look at it."

"But it's okay now! No need for anything!"

"You don't know that! Just let me have a quick look at it."

"But I checked it myself! I was training for this kind of thing!"

"You're in training. I'm experienced."

"I finished just a few months ago. I know what I'm doing."

"I'm older and have more experience with patients. I'll know better than you."

"But I can learn from doing it myself!"

"If you make a mistake you could die!

"I'm not that stupid!

"I'm not saying you are, I just-"

"For fuck's sake!" Daryl cried, now completely pissed with their bickering. He yanked Glenn's arm forward towards Dale and pulled the bandanna off.

Daryl blinked a few times before his eyes finally adjusted to what he was seeing. There wasn't a deep scar on his skin anymore like he saw before. Instead, there was a light, closed-up scar, clean and faded. No blood caking the outside of the wound, in fact there wasn`t even an outside! Just a faint, red line of where the gash used to be.

Dale stared at Daryl to Glenn, and then eyed the wound, which now didn't seem fatal as Daryl had told him. "This is the bleeding scratch you were talking about?" Dale raised an eyebrow at Daryl, skeptical.

"It was fucking deep and open and bleeding! I swear!" Daryl insisted angrily, but the old man just shook his head.

"Maybe you just overreacted, and its okay Daryl, this kind of thing happens. But next time, make sure he's actually hurt before you take action." With that, Dale gave them a nod left them be.

Glenn shifted uncomfortably as Daryl gave him a heated look. "Do you want to explain what happened to your wound there?"

"It healed." Glenn said dumbly. Daryl snorted.

"They don't heal that quickly! I should know! I've had my fair share of scars, and they all didn't disappear as quickly as yours did!"

"Well... It's because I said I trained with Dr. Jenner. I'm like a doctor. I healed myself." Glenn said lamely. Daryl rolled his eyes.

"I told you how much you suck at lying, right?" Glenn didn't say anything, just stared down at the ground. Daryl decided that maybe he should just confront Glenn directly about his 'secret'.

"I know." Daryl said in a blunt fashion. Glenn practically jumped and trembled, his face twisting up in mixture of shock and fear.

"W-What do you know? I mean, what do you mean?" The words barely left Glenn's mouth intact.

"I know that you're hiding something from me, from everybody in this group. Dr. Jenner said to keep you safe. He said that for a reason, but he didn't say the reason! Do you want to tell me? What's your story, Chinaman?"

"I-It's none of your damn business! Fuck off!" Glenn half-shouted, half-whimpered, and scampered away from Daryl as if Daryl were going to eat him. Daryl just stared as the kid ran away. The kid was like a puzzle, and he was definitely screwing with Daryl. One minute he's a nervous wreck and the next he actually grows a pair and snaps.

_What the hell is with this guy?_

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**Hope I'm doing a good job with this story! Thanks for all the people who are following and have favourited ('favourited' is not a word, is it? -_- ), it makes me happy! :D**

**So, any guesses on the secret? Am I making it too obvious or something? I have no clue! :p**

**So, pray I have time to update A.S.A.P !**

**Until next time! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello my friends! :) I'm back!**

**So, I just finished my other Darnn (How I say DarylxGlenn, I call them Darnn!) called 'I'd Rather Forget.' Now that I'm done that, I can start focusing on this one and my LoK one, so I'll updates shouldn't take too long. (But I have school and homework and family and friend stuff going on, so don't blame me when I get busy! :p )**

**Haha, see The Walking Dead season 3 preimiere? Wasn't that just fun? A whole new batch of fics can be inspired by that, haha! :p**

**Okay okay, enough of my blabbing, lets get on with the story, enjoy! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Walking Dead.'**

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Chapter 3

They marched deep into the forest, a somber silence wrapped tightly around the group. Daryl, Rick, Shane, Carol, Lori, Carol, Andrea, Carl and Glenn were all out together, searching for Sophia. Dale and T-Dog were left behind to watch their stuff and the supplies. There was still that sense of distrust towards Glenn, mainly in the ones who didnt know or give him a chance, like Lori and Shane. Carol and Andrea seemed okay around him, but they still seemed wary. Carl was a kid, and kids are too trusting, so he didn't act hostile towards the newcomer. Rick was trying to make the kid feel like he was a part of the group right now, chatting to him about their lives before the apocalypse. Daryl was right behind them, eavesdropping. From what he can hear, Glenn's past wasn`t too shady, raised by strict Asian parents, a smartass in school, two sisters, landing a job at the CDC, and before that he had a pizza job, delivering them that is. Honestly, Daryl couldn't figure out what was this kid's deal. Sure, he's acting pretty suspicious, but his past ain't dark and the kid wasn't dropping too much hints besides that mysterious quick healing scratch that happened back on the highway. That had to do something with his secret, why else would he get so defensive about it? Daryl knew he was hot on this kid's tail, he was closing in on the big secret, and that must be making the kid more and more jumpy.

Eventually, Glenn retreated from Rick and began to lag a bit behind the group. Daryl watched him, making sure he didn't try anything stupid like running away or escaping or something shifty like that. Glenn caught Daryl's stalking eyes and chewed on his lip. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead. There was no doubt that Daryl was scaring Glenn shitless. Glenn's been nervous around Daryl ever since he confronted him about his secret.

After a few minutes, a loud ringing was echoing through the air. The group paused and tensed. "What the hell's that noise?" Shane said, stomping forwards towards the sound. "It's nearby, and if it keeps ringing all the walkers in the fucking area will get attracted around here and we'll end up getting our faces chewed off! We got to stop that damn noise!"

"Now hold on," Rick said, approaching Shane, "We don't know who's ringing that noise, it could be Sophia! She might have found a safe place with a bell and started ringing it to get our attention! We have to approach this cautiously Shane!"

"Hmmm... Maybe you're right." Shane muttered, "All right then, let's go check this out your way then."

The forest started to clear up and a field was beginning to come into view. No, it wasn't a clearing, it wasn't clear at all. On the bright green grass, stone markers stuck up from the ground, tombstones. This was a graveyard, rows of graves lined up in neat rows. In the middle, there was a small church. On the top of the church, a nice large bell was swing side to side, noisily.

"Fuck, I don't think Sophia's up there ringing that thing." Shane said. "There looks like there ain't even a way to get up there?"

"How do we stop that ringing? Walkers will get attracted here!" Lori panicked.

"It must be automated."

Everyone turned around and faced Glenn, surprised that he found the courage to speak up. Glenn continued, "I mean, I've learned a bit about these kinds of things. The bell's probably being controlled automatically, it's on a timer, you know? You just got to shut it down."

"Can you shut it down?" Rick asked. Glenn nodded.

"Yeah, sure, no problem just got to find the control panel and I'll be good."

"All right then, everyone, search the church for a control panel or something like that so we can turn it off!"

The group quickly surrounded the church and within minutes they found the control panel, just on the outside wall of the church. Glenn walked up to it and opened it up. He fiddled around with some wires before they all heard the bell cease ringing. The group let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Good job Glenn." Rick said kindly, his thank-you echoing throughout the group. Glenn let a small sheepish grin, his eyes darting around to examine each face of the group. Daryl couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and stared at the sheriff. _So, acting all nice towards the kid and being friendly will really make him want to stay? Really?_

"Do you think Sophia's inside the church?" Carol asked, hope filling her voice.

"Let's hope so." Rick responded, "All right, let's move in."

Rick and Shane took the front doors, kicking them open. There were three figures inside, staring at the large cross at the end of the room. They turned around. Dead, blank eyes stared at them. Their jaws snapped as they began to shuffle their way. Daryl shot one with a bolt as Rick and Shane went for the other two with their close-range weapons. Carol, Andrea, and Lori were already searching the area, calling out the little girl's name. Carl was just watching, wide-eyed and Glenn just lingered at the back, unsure what to do, clasping the baseball bat in his hands.

"She's not here." Carol breathed after they searched every inch of the building. "Oh god she's not here, she's not anywhere..."

"It's okay." Lori comforted, bringing Carol in for another comforting hug. Carol let her be enveloped in Lori's arms, but after a moment, pushed her away. The group watched as she slowly walked forward towards the cross, her hands clapped together, as if about to pray.

Rick and Shane gave each other a look before walking away to leave her some space. "Hey Dixon, we got to talk." Shane said, bumping the hunter on the shoulder with his elbow. Daryl scowled at him but followed them both to the corner of the church, where no one could hear them if they were quiet enough.

"What's the deal with that Glenn kid?" Shane asked, "I hear he's giving you trouble Dixon."

"The kid's weird." Daryl answered, "He's definitely hiding something. Remember when I told ya about that nasty scratch he got by scraping a car? I told Dale to check it out, but when we finally got a look, the thing was practically healed up. Unless the kid had some damn good medicine on him or if he's just one hell of a doctor, wounds aren't supposed to heal that fast. Something's not right with that kid."

"That is strange." Rick agreed, "Is there anything else we need to know?"

Daryl paused, before saying, "I confronted him about it, the secret he's hiding. Told him I knew he was hiding something from all of us."

"And what did he say?" Shane asked.

"He told me to fuck off! That fucking bastard's screwing with us!" Daryl snarled. "We should just squeeze the information out of him or something! He won't tell us shit!"

"Calm down." Rick said, "So far, he's posed no threat to the group, he's actually a good help so far. All we have to do is give him a chance to prove himself, make him feel more comfortable, make our people feel more comfortable around him. Once he feels settled in, he'll tell us. It's just patience."

"Patience?" Shane scoffed, "Rick, the kid will never feel 'settled in'. There are some people like me, who just don't, and won't trust him. He seems like a nice kid, but he's unpredictable, just like Jenner! We can't wait, we have to know! And soon!"

"We can't force it out of him! It'll just make him want to tell us less!"

Daryl rolled his eyes as the two quietly continued their bickering. He let his eyes drift around the room. Lori and Carol were sitting down, talking to each other, Carl was walking around the church, exploring, it seemed. Andrea was sitting by herself, looking as gloomy as ever. Daryl's eyes widened. _Fuck! No! _ His eyes scanned the room once, twice three times before he concluded what he was seeing, or, what he couldn't see.

"The kid's gone."

Rick and Shane stopped arguing and stared at Daryl before looking around the room. "Where's Glenn?" Rick asked the group.

They all looked at one another and looked around the room. The kid was gone.

"He must've run off when we were all busy, crap!" Shane angrily threw his knife on the ground.

"We have to find him!" Rick said.

"Why?" Andrea asked, "It's not like he's a vital member of the group, if he wants to leave, then he can leave, it's not our choice to make!" She said each word bitterly, talking straight from experience.

"He's still part of our group, and we have to make sure he's okay!" Rick said. Non one argued further, they just nodded in agreement. _Great, we got two people missing now._

They all exited the church. "We should split up, cover more ground that way." Rick said. "You guys do a loop around that area then go back to the highway, Shane and I will check out that chunk of land over there."

"Wait, dad?" Carl stepped towards his father. "Can I come with you?"

"Out of the question!" Lori snapped, grabbing his wrist.

"Now hold on Lori, maybe its okay to let him come with us." Rick said gently.

"Are you joking? There are walkers hiding in that forest, they could jump him at any moment!"

"Not with Shane and I there. You know both me and him can protect him Lori."

"Yeah, we can." Shane agreed.

Lori gave them both a long look.

"Come on mom, please? I want to help find Sophia!" Carl pleaded, his eyes shining with hope. Lori sighed, shaking her head and closing her eyes.

"Fine, you can go. But promise to stay close to your father and Shane at all times. Don't wander too far from them!" She said sternly, letting go of his wrist.

"All right!" Carl said excitedly, giving his mom a quick hug and running off to join Rick and Shane.

"Daryl, you lead them back, okay?"

"Sure." Daryl said. As the trio of Rick, Shane and Carl began to walk away, Daryl waved his hand, pointing towards the forest. "Come on, let's go!"

They all marched into the forest. Daryl, Andrea, Lori and Carol. The women were all pretty silent. It felt odd, considering how chatty they can get sometimes. _Maybe it's just that they're intimidated by me. _

A roar erupted from nearby. They all stiffened at the sound. That wasn't the roar of a walker. No, it didn't sound human, it was more of a deep, throaty animal cry. _A bear!_

Almost immediately, a bear burst onto the scene, roaring. It wasn't sound like a roar of attack or anger, it sounded hurt, pained. Daryl looked closely at the brown bear and discovered the patch of fur torn off, replaced with some bloody bite marks. In a frenzy, the bear wildly thrashed around, continuing to wail as its paws slashed at the air, dangerously close to the survivors face. The woman screamed and scattered.

"No! Stay together!" Daryl cried in frustration. _Fuck, what the hell are they doing? _ At that moment, the bear's forearm swung and whacked Daryl straight in the stomach. He grunted in pain, stumbling backwards. His feet could no longer feel the ground. He let out a surprised cry before tumbling down a ravine. His body rolled and thumped against the forest floor. Surprisingly, the way down wasn't too bad. There were some sharp twigs and rocks, but there weren't anything life-threatening prodding at him, just lush leaves and soil. Eventually, he had stopped rolling and stopped himself.

He groaned, slowly getting up. _Damn, lucky I got no injured or anything._ He looked up and felt a wave of annoyance. _Well shit, I can't climb that, it's too steep. Got to find another way around this._

The bear's cries were distant know, it must've began to wander blindly into another area.

He began to walk along the side of the steep hill, looking for a climbable way up. _Those woman must crapping themselves right now! If I leave them alone, I know those two cops will never let me hear the end of it! Damn it!_

A wet 'thunk' noise made Daryl stop walking. He got his crossbow ready, all his senses alert. A series of wet thunks could be heard, accompanied by the noise of someone panting. Daryl calmly and carefully made his way towards the sounds. He could hear the person now, breathing heavily and gasping. It actually sounded a lot like...

Daryl smirked and leapt from his hiding spot. "Well, looks like I found you, ya little..." Daryl's jaw froze, unable to complete his sentence. He faced Glenn, who was looking like he was about to get eaten. A dead walker lay at his feet, its head smashed in with a splintered bat. A dark red crimson was splattered on Glenn's cheek and was dripping from his fingers. Blood was streaming out of a wound on his arm. A bite mark lay there, still fresh. A walker's bite mark.

"Holy shit..." Daryl said. After all the probing and all the investigating, the kid ended up getting bitten. The kid was done. The kid was as good as dead. Still in a bit of shock, Daryl raised his crossbow and aimed at the kid's face. Glenn backed up.

"No! Daryl please, don't shoot!" He begged.

"You're going to turn." Daryl snarled, "I have to make sure ya don't come back."

"I was just leaving the group! Just let me leave and I'll go far away and you'll never see me again!"

"I can't risk that." Daryl said, "I'm sorry kid, but you're dead now."

"No, I won't! You can't! You can't just kill me!"

"Oh really? Just watch me kid. I'm real sorry, but I have to."

"You can't!" Glenn burst, "You fucking can't do this! I have to live!"

"You're bit!" Daryl hissed. "You get bit, you die and then turn! End of story! Now stop talking so we can make this quick!"

"I won't die!"

"Yes you will!"

"You fucking dumbass!" Glenn yelled. Daryl twitched in fury. Glenn paled, "No, Daryl wait, I didn't mean it like that..."

Daryl stomped towards the Asian, a predatory glint in his eyes. "You. Are. Dead." He said each word darkly. He raised his crossbow to Glenn's head. Glenn cried out in alarm and raised his arms in front of his face.

"No! Daryl! Don't shoot!"

"Give me one good reason not to." Daryl growled, waiting for the kid to start pleading with him pathetically.

Glenn lowered his arms, shaking. He was frowning, his eyes shimmering with doubt and conflict. His face was red and his voice sounded weak. "I... I'm immune." He confessed, not meeting Daryl's eyes.

Daryl lowered his crossbow, staring at him. "What?"

Glenn looked a little braver now, stepping forward with a bold look on his face. His brown eyes met Daryl's surprised ones.

"I'm immune to the walker's bite."

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**Secret revealed! Dun-dun-duuunnnn! :p Glenn will explain it more next chapter, which hopefully won't take too long to come out! :) **

**And on a sidenote here, what colour are Daryl's eyes? I can't tell because I'm sometimes colour blind! :( (I mean, dark orange looks like red, dark blues and purples look like blacks, damn it! :| )**

**So review if you liked it (Or if there is something I could improve!) and follow and favorite please? :) Thanks to all of you who are supporting it so far, it means a lot to me! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Was the wait too long for this chapter? Sorry guys! :| I wasn't sure where to end this chapter, because I could've kept going and going and then stop at a bad spot... So I cut it off. Hopefully, I'll update pretty soon with this.**

**There's already over 30 followers for this story already, and I'm only on chapter 4 right now! You guys have so much faith in me, thanks so much gouys! Thanks for the reviews and follows and favorites... It means a lot! :)**

**All right, enough of my talking, enjoy the story! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Walking Dead'.**

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Chapter 4 

"Immune?" Daryl repeated, lowering his crossbow. Glenn nodded frantically, a relived look passing through his face as Daryl's crossbow lowered.

"Do you take me for an idiot?" Daryl snarled, advancing towards the kid, "You expect me to believe such a stupid excuse?"

"It's true!" Glenn said desperately, almost angrily, "It really is true!"

"Bullshit." Daryl hissed, "If you're going to beg, don't make up stupid excuses!"

"You're the stupid one!" Glenn yelled. Daryl's eyes smoldered with rage, but Glenn for once didn't seem to care. He was standing straight, defiantly, willing to face Daryl head on. _Well... look who's growing some balls!_

"I'm telling you the truth! I'm immune!" Glenn said angrily, his voice a soft whisper of rage. "You wanted to know my big secret? Well here it is! I am fucking immune!"

Glenn trembled, his fists clenched tightly. For the first time, Glenn actually looked certain of himself, brave. Daryl usually saw the kid as a wimp, but maybe under all that softness, the kid's actually a fighter, a warrior. Glenn glared at Daryl, his face red. _Well... Why would the kid lie about this? _Daryl thought, _And even if this was some sort of excuse, he could've made a better one, he seems smarter than that. Maybe... Maybe he's telling the truth. But that... Actually...It's unbelievable... but that would make sense. The CDC was looking for a cure to solve this crap, maybe this kid really is the key to saving us all... Huh... who would've guessed?_

Slowly, Daryl lowered his crossbow. He looked over at Glenn's bite, which wasn't too deep, not bleeding too heavily. "So... you really are immune?"

"Yes!" Glenn said, "Now, will you get off my back about it?"

"So... you won't turn?" Daryl clarified.

Glenn shook his head, "No, I won't turn. No matter how many times I get bit, I won't turn... I'll heal automatically from it."

"You'll automatically heal from it?" Daryl repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah... I mean... Sure it takes awhile, but it heals really fast. Like, quicker than it would usually take."

"That scratch you got back on the highway... It healed quick... but it weren't no bite." Daryl remarked.

"It works with most external injuries. Internal too... maybe... we haven't tested it. " Glenn said, "The cure in me causes my skin cells to reproduce much faster then it regularly would, and my immune system is strengthened too, so no infections from scratches and bites will hurt me anymore. Even if I hurt a vein and start bleeding out, as long as it's not extremely life-threatening I should be okay."

"You weren't born with it?" Daryl asked.

"No... Dr. Jenner created the cure. I tested it." Glenn admitted.

"You were his lab rat basically." Daryl stated. Glenn looked down at his feet.

"No... It wasn't supposed to be like that. Before you guys came, it wasn't just Jenner and I, his wife too was with us. She was smarter than both of us, she was developing the cure, Jenner was her partner, and I was an assistant, help any way I can. When we were creating the cure, and we needed test subjects, something that was bitten and infected. At first, I volunteered so I could be useful."

"Even if it meant dying?" Daryl asked, surprised that somebody would volunteer to get chewed just for some experiment that might not even work.

"Even if it meant dying." Glenn repeated softly. "They both didn't really like that idea. So for awhile, we were stuck, we didn't know how to move forward. That's when..." Glenn paused, his eyes clouding. Daryl leaned forward, waiting for the kid to spit it out already.

"That's when she ran. She ran out of the building, out of the CDC. She just... she just got herself bit, I mean, holy shit, the blood, the screaming, Dr. Jenner...Damn... If you could see the security footage... I... "He shook his head, his eyes looking lost in some deep memory. He gulped and continued, "When...When we realized what was happening... It was too late. She was dying. The only thing we could do was to give her the cure. So we injected it into her and we waited... but... she died... and came back." A grim silence followed after that.

"Our cure was no good. But because she died, we figured out what we were missing the whole time. We figured out the key to all of this. I volunteered to do it again, to be injected, but Jenner didn't want me too... He didn't want to risk me dying or anything... He didn't want to be alone. So... I did it. Without him knowing, I injected myself with the cure. When he noticed some of it missing, he seemed to have figured it out pretty quickly. We fought, we, didn't agree with what I had done... But I had to, if I didn't..."

"If ya didn't, then Jenner might've done the same thing his wife did and leave ya all alone, right?" Daryl guessed. Glenn turned his head away, not answering if it was right or wrong.

"He didn't know what to do... We didn't know what the next step was... So I just decided that it was just all or nothing. I was either immune or I wasn't."

"So you got yerself bit on purpose, right?" Daryl guessed. Glenn nodded. Daryl couldn't help but snort at the idea, yet he felt a bit of respect for the kid's bravery. "You really would've risked all that? Kid, you actually have balls, I'll give you that."

"What else could I have done?" Glenn mumbled, looking a bit surprised that Daryl had complimented him, kind of. "When we realized I wasn't turning, Dr. Jenner was ecstatic. But... as he told you guys, communication isn't exactly easy. We couldn't contact anybody, we couldn't tell any remaining government structure or something... So we just continued to research the cure, its effects on people and tried to produce more of it. But that was months ago. I guess as the months went by... Dr. Jenner was getting less and less hopeful that anything remained, that it was just us who were left. We didn't know what to do really. Then you guys came along and..."

"I see." Daryl murmured. He was watching the bite mark on Glenn's hand. It actually was healing a little quickly. Already the bleeding stopped itself and he could see some skin starting to grow back in place. He looked up at Glenn again. "So this whole 'running away' thing, is it because of your immunity? Are ya worried we might dissect you and shit?"

"I barely know you people, I couldn't risk letting you guys find out!"

"But now I know." Daryl said.

Glenn sighed, "Yeah, you do know, which gives me all the more reason to leave, right now."

"Hold on a damn minute ya stupid shit!" Daryl walked in front of Glenn, blocking his path. "You're still thinking of leaving us?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Glenn cried, "You already know too much!"

"You won't survive out there! You got bit trying to take down one walker! You have no experience! You're going to starve yourself out there!"

"I can scavenge for stuff, I'm good at that kind of thing."

"So? What happens when a walker gets ya?"

"I'll heal." Glenn said stubbornly, "I won't die."

"What about a huge fucking horde? When you're getting torn apart and getting gnawed at? What then? You just are going to heal from that too?" Daryl sneered, "Kid, ya can't do it on yer own, you need someone to watch you r tiny ass. You have to stay here."

"You only want me to stay because I'm the cure! You probably want it all for yourself!" Glenn accused.

Daryl hesitated. Glenn just smirked sadly, "I'm leaving. I don't need you guys." He pushed past Daryl and began walking down the leafy trail by himself.

"I'm not letting ya leave because I promised Jenner that I'd take care of ya."

Glenn stopped walking. He turned around and faced him, shock lighting up his gaze. _Well, _Daryl thought, _the boy's got a weak spot for his nutty boss. This is good, just keep on talking, and convince him._

"He told me to keep ya safe, remember? I already told you about this. He entrusted you to us, to this group. Don't walk away from his wishes."

"You tried to cut his head open with an axe!" Glenn yelled.

"He locked us in a room and tried to kill us all!" Daryl snapped back, "Just call it even kid!" Daryl shook his head, "You can't leave this group!"

"I have to! You know my secret! What if you tell the others? What if they want me to do... to do... to do who knows what! I don't want to be trapped by them!"

"Then I won't tell them!" Daryl said, rolling his eyes, "Ya really thought that I'd start gossiping about you as soon as yer back's turned? I'm not fucking stupid."

Glenn shifted, frowning, unsure. "You really wouldn't tell anyone?"

"I can swear to you in blood if you want me too." To prove his point, Daryl pulled out one of his bolts and pointed the sharp tip near the vein on his wrist. Glenn raised his hand, shaking his side from side to side, closing his eyes.

"No No No No! No thanks, I'll pass!"

"Afraid of some blood?" Daryl taunted, "You probably have seen your fair share of this."

"I don't want to be responsible if you bleed out and die!"

"I'm not that weak." Daryl huffed. "So, how about it? Ya going to stay with us then?"

Glenn shifted uncomfortably, looking uncertain. "Kid," Daryl began, knowing that threatening the boy would only make him want to leave more, "You say that you can handle it out there, in that world, but I know you ain't strong enough, ain't experienced enough. Even if ya had training in the CDC, that won't help you at all. You need real experience, you need to actually fight them, learn about them while in combat, that'll help you survive in this world. You need to learn, hand-to-hand combat. I'll teach ya, but ya got to stay."

Glenn shifted a bit, looking into Daryl's eyes. "You really won't tell anyone?"

"Yeah."

Glenn sighed, looking defeated. "Fine then, I... I guess I will, since you're right about a few things. But," Glenn's voice suddenly became stern, "If anyone, and I mean, anyone other than you knows this, then I'm just going to leave. I'll leave, and you won't stop me. Is that fair enough?"

"No one's going to find out, relax." Daryl rolled his eyes.

"You better be right." Glenn muttered. He pulled his sleeve up, covering the remaining traces of his bite mark. "Well, I guess then that we'll go back to the group. What do we tell them? About me disappearing?"

"Just say ya thought you saw Sophia or something, I don't know, just lie or something."

"I can't lie well." Glenn said, "Especially about that! I can't lie to a grieving mother about seeing her lost daughter! That's wrong!"

Daryl felt a bit frustrated. "Well than shit! How am I supposed to know! Damn it kid, you're smart, and you figure it out! Look, I got separated from the woman of the group, they're going to freak out and get themselves killed if we don't get back to them! Let's get going before they pee themselves."

Glenn just nodded, and trailed slowly behind him as he led the way back. Daryl kept glancing back every now and then to make sure the kid wasn't pulling any tricks and trying to give him the slip. This kid was as slippery as the guts he felt in that walker earlier in when he gutted one of them with Rick. He had to give him a reason to stay, any reason, and not just the training. If Daryl just trained him, then he could sprint off as soon as he felt like he was ready to head out on his own. Daryl needed to give Glenn a good reason to stay, something invaluable or worthwhile. But what would make the kid stay?

"_We have to let him fit in, give him a chance to actually be a part of the group, stop excluding him, you know? Give him a purpose."_

Rick's words echoed through Daryl's mind. _A purpose... Make him feel wanted and shit..._ He recalled how awkward yet proud Glenn looked as the group praised him for turning off the bells at the church. _He must've felt wanted, nice, special, all that warm, fuzzy crap. Maybe if we keep going on like that, he'll realize how he needs us or something, maybe... Eh, worth a shot, I guess... I just got to be nice to him..._

Daryl suddenly felt like laughing out loud. _Me? Being nice? To that little shit? That's fucking unbelievable! Don't know if I can pull that off! Damn it..._

They trekked together in silence as they searched for the group. Glenn and Daryl kept exchanging wary glances to one another and then awkwardly looking away. Daryl puffed out a steam of hot air. _This is pointless, how can I be friends with this guy if we don't even trust one another?_

As Daryl approached the spot where he rolled off the ravine in the first place, he could the sound of leaved being crunched up ahead. He signalled with his hand for Glenn to stop moving then proceeded to raise his crossbow in the air. Glenn gripped his baseball bat, his eyes wide and anxious.

"We've past that tree at least three times now! I'm telling you, we're lost!"

"Are you sure? This forest looks like any other part of the forest... It all looks the same to me anyways."

"Sophia could've easily gotten lost in this..."

"Don't worry, we'll find her!"

Glenn let out a tiny puff of relief. Daryl lowered his crossbow and emerged from the thick bush. Carol, Lori and Andrea spun around, getting into an attacking position and raising their pocket knives in preparation to attack. Their hostility quickly evaporated when they realized it was only Daryl. But the tension seemed to rise again when the bush quivered and Glenn revealed himself to them. All of their eyes sparked the hostility returning.

"You're back." Lori said, her eyes piercing through Glenn like a bullet. He gulped.

"Yeah. Daryl found me."

"Where were you?" Andrea demanded, her voice icy and un-welcoming, "And why did you leave us in the first place? Do you know how much trouble we're going through already?"

"I'm sorry." Glenn mumbled, bowing his head.

"You didn't answer my question! Tell us why you left and where were you? And what's with the blood splatter's on your face?" Andrea's words cut through the boy, causing him to look away nervously. Carol and Lori glared expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"I... I..." He began.

"He was scared of us, of our group." Daryl decided that he needed to step in and help him out. "He was afraid that we'd punish him for what Jenner did, he felt like he wouldn't fit in cause of that, that you'd all judge him based on what Jenner did. But I convinced him to give us a shot, I told him we ain't like that. Right?"

The ladies looked at Glenn. Lori and Carol eyes shone with sympathy, clearly swayed by the pitiable Glenn. But Andrea wasn't as fazed, her eyes narrowed and looking suspicious. "We're sorry we made you feel that way Glenn." Carol said, "It's just that all the change that's just happening so far... It's making everyone jumpy."

"You're welcome with us Glenn." Lori added, giving him a soft grin. Glenn retuned it awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"Now if yer done chatting, I'd like to continue on our way now. We got a lot of ground to make up. Let's go." He smirked and took the lead, everyone following him. Glenn ran up beside him a shot him a grateful look.

"Thanks." He said, the word spoken softly.

"Don't mention it." Daryl huffed, "But don't rely on me too much. Ya got to learn how to handle yourself better, you follow?"

"Yeah, yeah I do." Glenn said. He looked back at the ladies. Even though they welcomed Glenn back, they sure didn't act like they wanted him back. They ignored him, whispering to one another and shooting rabbit-swift glances at him every moment or so. Glenn frowned, looking back at Daryl.

Daryl didn't say anything, he just kept trudging forward. Glenn stuck close behind him, looking down and fiddling with his shaky fingers. He kept an eye on Daryl his eyes dark and his face a little pale. _Is he scared of me? Scared I might screw him over or something? Fucking hell, does this kid have any trust in me?_

A sudden scream behind them made them all turn around. Andrea was on the ground, panting and wailing as a walker crawled towards her, its glazed eyes fixed onto Andrea. Its hands were approaching quickly, ready to sink its nails into some fresh flesh. Immediately Daryl raised his crossbow, about to shoot.

That's when it happened, so quickly. The large thundering noise of hooves, thudding against the forest floor was upon them. A thin arm grasped a sturdy wooden baseball bat, extended and ready to strike. The horse, never slowing down ran straight next to the walker. The arm swung itself, whacking the walker in the opposite direction of Andrea. Andrea gasped, trying to regain her breath while taking a look to analyze her saviour.

A young woman, probably in her early twenties, was sitting tall and dignified on her horse. She seemed full of confidence, swing the baseball bat with ease, not minding the dark blood staining her clothes. She had brown hair and brown eyes. When she spoke, she spoke with a southern drawl, similar to Daryl's.

"Lori? Lori Grimes?" She asked, looking at them expectantly.

"I'm Lori." She stepped up cautiously.

"Rick sent me to get you. You're son's Carl's been shot. You have to come, now."

Lori froze, her eyes widening at the news. Her arms fell to her side, numb, dropping the knife in his hand. The backpack on her back slid off in her shock. Her breathing hitched, taking uneven breathes. She staggered forward, towards the horse.

"Hold on, we don't know this girl! You can't just go with her!" Daryl cried in anger.

"Rick said you have others on the highway, right?" The woman asked. She met Glenn's eyes. "Get back to them then take a right at the intersection south bound. Keep going until you see the mailbox that has the name 'Greene'. You can't miss it."

"Uh, sure." Glenn stuttered, looking surprise that she trusted him with the information.

"The name's Maggie by the way, Maggie Greene." She gave a curt nod before riding away into the forest, Lori sitting behind her on the horse. They watched as they both disappeared into the forest.

"Carl's been shot..." Carol repeated the words, as if they were just sinking in now, "Oh no, first Sophia goes missing and now this! Oh..." Andrea got up, covered in walker blood and dirt. She patted Carol's shoulder comfortingly.

"We should keep moving. Come on, let's go." Daryl urged his shell-shocked group members. They all just nodded bleakly and continued forward.

After another long, quiet trek through the thick woodland, they finally set foot back on the highway. The group dispersed, Dale talking to Andrea frantically, T-Dog and Carol going off by themselves. Glenn was staying at the side, looking as if he were about to hurl. His body shook, his head down._ Don't see why he has to feel so sad about it... He barely knew the kid. Then again, it is just a kid... _Daryl made his way over to him, about to ask him what's troubling him.

Dale prodded Daryl on the shoulder. "Hey Daryl, we're about to leave to check out this farm now." He said. Daryl sighed, casting one more glance at Glenn, who was slowly getting up not the R.V. Wearily, Daryl walked over to his bike and revved it up.

* * *

Daryl stood at the base of a tree. Here they were, at a farm. It was a nice, big plot of land, surprisingly untouched by the walkers. Bright green grass, a barn not too far from the house, animals such as horses and chicken were kept and fed, it was like the apocalypse didn't even scratch this area, although they did mention that a few of the neighbours and family got bit.

The people here seemed all right. The old man, Hershel, he was a vet, so he was patching up Carl right now. He had three daughters, Patricia, some old chick who helped him out, Beth, the youngest, a teenager really, and her boyfriend Jimmy. Then was that Maggie chick that saved Andrea, she was chatting with Glenn on the porch.

Daryl watched from a distance, finding it odd how Glenn and Maggie just immediately became fast buddies. He didn't think that the tough farm girl and the soft Asian kid would get along so quickly and easily. _Maybe it's because she didn't judge him the way our group did, she wasn't there for the whole CDC drama and shit. Well, at least the kid's got s friend now._

Daryl turned his head away from them and looked out onto the road. Shane and some guy named Otis, the guy who shot Carl in the first place, went off to look for some medical supplies. Apparently, if they didn't get it in time, then Carl would have to do some surgery without said supplies, which ain't such a good thing.

"Hey Daryl!" A call made him look around. Andrea was jogging towards him, waving her hand.

"What do ya want?" Daryl asked, folding his arms, surprised she would talk to him. She and Daryl weren't exactly on good terms. He can blame that on Merle's perverted personality.

"Hershel's wondering if there's any sign of Shane and Otis yet, he needs to operate on Carl soon!"

"They're not here yet." Daryl huffed, "I haven't seen any sign of them."

Andrea looked distressed, looking back at the house. "They should be here soon... Carl..."

Daryl looked back at the house with her. Maggie was still on the porch, but there weren't any sign of Glenn anymore. A wave of panic entered Daryl's bloodstream. _Shit! Don't tell me he fucking ran again!_

"Where's Glenn?" Daryl demanded, standing upright now.

Andrea blinked, "In the house." Her eyes narrowed. "Why are you always worrying about him?"

"It's none of your fucking business!" Daryl snapped, storming away. _Fucking bitch! Butting into my business! Stupid... I have to make sure the little shit didn't leave again. That kid, he's just asking for trouble, ain't he?_

Daryl marched up the front porch and opened the door into the house. Maggie, who was sitting on the porch, was about to say something to him, but he just ignored her presence completely. He froze, trying to figure out the layout of the house. If Glenn really was here, then where would he be exactly?

A creak on the floorboards made Daryl turn. It seemed like it was coming from down the hallway, in that bedroom. Silently, Daryl crept towards the doorway. He took a peek inside.

There he was. Glenn. The guy was standing over a younger boy, Carl. Glenn's back was towards Daryl. Daryl watched as Glenn's head lowered towards Carl's body. Glenn was trembling, sweat dripping fresh from his face. He kept hovering above the sleeping boy, looking hesitant, biting his lips. His hands were in front of the boy's face, clenched and drenched with sweat. Daryl just gawked at the sight.

_What the hell is he doing?_

* * *

**Hmmm... This seems like a good spot to end this chapter. :p**

**See y'all next time! ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I am sorry for being so slow at updating. -_- I'd start spouting excuses but you all just probably want to read the story. Well here ya go! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Walking Dead'.**

* * *

Chapter 5

"What the hell are you doing?" Daryl walked in, circling the bed. Glenn's body immediately snapped up, standing straight. He avoided Daryl's eyes, looking down.

"I was just looking at the boy." Glenn finally said, his voice strained.

"Bullshit you were, you were planning something, weren't you?" Daryl accused. Glenn cringed but said nothing, looking down again.

"I... I wasn't going to hurt him, I swear." Glenn said in a shaky voice.

Daryl paused. Glenn didn't seem like the kind of guy that would do _that _to a kid, hell, Glenn didn't really want to stay here to begin with! But... What was he doing in the first place above the kid?

Daryl sighed. Earlier on, his head was wrapped around trying to figure out how to make the kid stay, how to make him trust him. Now was an opportunity to trust him, let this slide. _But this... What the hell is he thinking? I can't just pretend this never happened... But... crap..._

Heaving in frustration, Daryl finally opted to just let the kid off the hook... for now. He'd figure out what the he was trying to do eventually. "All right kid, I believe you. For now." He added menace to his last words.

Glenn's eyes widened, not from fear, but from relief. "R-Really?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to catch ya doing shifty shit behind my back anymore, ya hear me?"

"I hear you." Glenn said. Nodding his head solemnly, "I'll try my best not to."

"What are you doing here?"

Both Glenn and Daryl spun around. Rick was at the doorway with suspicious eyes.

"We were checking on Carl, wanted to see if he was okay." Daryl said, quickly making an excuse for both of them.

Rick didn't seem too convinced, for he had a frown on his face and kept looking between the both of them. "Well, all right then, never mind that." He turned to Glenn, his gaze hardening. "So, you came back."

"I did." Glenn said, trying to not sound scared, but the fear took control of his voice.

"Lori said you left because you felt like you didn't belong. Is that true?"

"... Yes." Glenn finally said. Daryl watched every moment carefully. Rick was a cop before all of this, and it felt like he was interrogating the poor kid.

"Glenn, I know you're hiding something from me. From all of us. Are you sure you weren't running away because of that?" Rick demanded softly, sounding both intimidating yet gentle.

Glenn took a step back, surprise lighting up his gaze. "Wh-What? Y-You know too?" He gave Daryl a sour look. Daryl just shrugged lamely. _Maybe I should've warned him about Rick..._

"Glenn, I'm not a bad guy, I just want to know what's bothering you, what you're keeping from us. It could mean something important, I don't know, and I'll never know if you don't ever tell us."

"There's nothing to say." Glenn murmured, biting his lip. "I... I know nothing. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Just a moment ago you were surprised that 'I knew too'. You're just making this worse on yourself. You should just tell me, tell us, the truth. Come on Glenn." Rick pressed, advancing towards the poor kid. Glenn backed away from Rick until his back hit the wall. Glenn squirmed, like an animal caught in a trap. Daryl squinted, how come Rick was choosing to interrogate the kid now?

Glenn stared at Daryl then stared back at Rick, looking at him with fear and distaste as if Rick were going to strike him. Daryl rubbed his temple in frustration. On one hand, he could side with Rick and force the information out of Glenn, which would lead to the kid to want to run away. _No... He's got to stay within sight. He can't leave..._

Which left option two, defending Glenn against Rick. If he did that, the kid should be feeling grateful, more trusting, but Rick would be angry as hell. Daryl frowned, he knew which option he'd have to choose.

"Rick! Why don't you let the kid have a fucking break? I thought you were going to play it all nice and not force it out of him!" Daryl said, stepping in front of Glenn to face off with Rick. Both Glenn and Rick were gaping at Daryl, surprised that he just butted in like that.

"Daryl, what the hell are you doing?" Rick demanded, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Look at him sweating!" Daryl said, looking back at Glenn, praying that he would make himself look pitiable. Luckily, the kid did just that, staring up at Rick with big scared eyes, trembling like a wet dog. Rick gave Daryl and Glenn a hard stare. He shook his head, not replying.

Glenn gave Daryl a look of gratitude before suddenly turning his feet and sprinting out of the room like a marathon runner. Daryl and Rick just watched in complete shock as Glenn speedily made his way out of the room, flawlessly escaping. _What?_

"Damn... That was fast..." The words slipped out of Daryl's mouth.

Rick blinked and walked up to Daryl with a huge frown on his face. Daryl met his frown with his own.

"What was that all about?" Rick asked. "Why'd you go ahead and stopped me?"

"Why did you start questioning him in the first place?" Daryl countered, "I thought you were going to play nice cop and slowly squeeze it out of him. Wasn't that plan?"

"It was." Rick said flatly. "But it changed."

"Why? Why did it change?"

"Shane." Rick answered. "Shane came back with the surgery supplies, by himself. That other guy, Otis, he died while on the trip. Shane saw the whole thing. He seemed shaken a bit, and I owe him a debt, I said if there was anything I could do to repay him, anything at all, I'd do it. He did save my family, after all."

"So, is this his request? Scaring the kid shitless with questions he doesn't want to answer?" Rick looked conflicted as Daryl said those words. That's when it dawned on him, _He doesn't want to do this, he's only doing because of the pressure from Shane. _

"Don't do this just because Shane wants ya too." Daryl hissed. "Why don't you stop letting him think for you and think for yourself for once?" Rick looked shocked as Daryl shoved Rick away and stomped out of the room. He froze.

Maggie was there, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She was staring at Daryl with an unreadable look in her eyes. _She must've heard all of that... Shit. _ Daryl looked at her, waiting for her to say something. Maggie smirked.

"What?" She asked, teasing innocence in her voice.

"You heard our entire conversation, didn't you?" Daryl said, "I figured you'd have questions to ask."

"No, not really." Maggie shrugged, "It's not my business, is it? Besides, Glenn's a nice guy. If he were hiding something, it should be for a good reason, right?"

"You really think that?" Daryl asked suspiciously.

Maggie nodded, "Yeah, I do. Don't worry," She added mischievously, "I won't tell anyone about what happened."

"How can I trust you?" Daryl questioned.

"You just have to take my word on it." Maggie gave him a smug smile. "You should go. The operation's going to start soon."

Daryl looked at the girl one more time before opening the front door and leaving the house. _Well... That was odd. She didn't seem too fazed about Glenn. She's the only one who really doesn't give a crap about Glenn's secret or past or anything. Well, besides me, I guess._

As Daryl made his way towards the R.V where he would take a well deserved nap, something caught his attention. Glenn was waving to his from the base of one of the trees on the property. It looked as if the kid was waiting there for him. Daryl paused before walking towards him. When he got to him, Glenn was wearing a look of nervousness on his face, not meeting Daryl's eyes.

"Hey." Glenn said.

"Hey." Daryl replied, "What is it?"

"I... I just wanted to thank you for defending me." Glenn said, raising his head. Glenn was smiling softly and his nervousness was slowly evaporating. "I mean, you didn't have to, but you did. It was really nice of you to do that."

"Don't mention it." Daryl said, "That asshole was giving you hell anyways. It feels good telling him off once in awhile."

Glenn chuckled, something Daryl thought he wouldn't hear out of this nervous wreck-of-a-man. "It sounds like you really don't like this guy."

"He handcuffed my brother to a roof and left him." Daryl said bluntly. That smile on Glenn's face disappeared in an instant.

"Oh shit! I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry if I offended you or anything." Glenn bowed his head in a sign of apology.

"What the hell?" Daryl wasn't used to people apologising to him, usually it was the other way around. "Kid, you don't have to get worked up over something you never had a part of."

"Still..." Glenn scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It was rude of me. I'm sorry."

"Stop that." Daryl said, "I told ya, there's no need for that." Daryl yawned. "I'm going to sleep, 'kay? Don't get yourself in trouble while I'm sleeping."

"No problem." Glenn said, "But... Daryl?"

"What is it?" Daryl asked.

"How come you never told me Rick knew?" Glenn questioned, "It would have been nice to know that you're not the only one who knows about it."

"It slipped my mind." Daryl said briskly, "I didn't think that he'd make a big show of it."

"Oh..." Glenn looked down at his feet. Daryl rolled his eyes.

"Relax Chinaman, I ain't going to let him find out." Daryl paused. "Now can I ask you a quick question?"

"What?"

"Will ya ever tell me what you were doing with the kid there?"

Glenn blinked, not expecting that. He sighed, scratching the back of his head, his eyes shining with knowledge. He looked up, "There are just some things you aren't supposed to know, whether I want to tell you or not." His eyes suddenly twinkled with regret. "Sorry, I can't say."

Daryl rolled his eyes, snorting. "Well fine then, be a douche about it."

Glenn smiled. "Whatever. Well... Good night."

"Night." Daryl said and made his way to the R.V. He could feel the sharp gaze of Glenn piercing through him. He was still there, watching him leave. _Wait a minute, does he have a place to sleep for the night?_ The tents weren't set up yet. The only places they could sleep in were the R.V and the cars. But if the others were being protective and decided not to let him...

Daryl turned his head to ask Glenn, but then he saw that girl again, Maggie, talking to Glenn. She seemed to be saying something that Glenn agreed with, for he nodded all too eagerly. Daryl watched as they both walked up into the house together. Glenn caught Daryl's eyes. For a moment, they were locked in each other's gaze before Glenn gave him a final little wave and entered the house with Maggie.

Daryl felt his chest burning. He didn't trust Maggie too much, partially because of her listening in on the conversation. _She could be probing Glenn for information for all I know. I better warn Glenn tomorrow, just in case._

Daryl entered the R.V, feeling weary from the events of the day. As he settled in on one of the little pull-out beds, he could hear a soft noise. Daryl raised his heads, slightly annoyed. _What the fuck?_

It was Carol. Every few minutes or so, she would start sobbing a bit, sniffling and such. Daryl tried to block out the noise, but within the silence of the night, there wasn't really anything to distract him from Carol's constant whimpers. Daryl held back a frustrated sigh as he got off the bed.

"W-Where are you going?" Carol asked quietly.

"I'm going to go look for her." Daryl answered, earning him an owl-eyed look from the woman. "Can't sleep anyways." He added before taking off. He caught a glimpse of Carol's awe-struck face before taking off. It was around midnight or so, the dark night sky nearly engulfed the entire property. Only Andrea was outside, looking up into the sky, as if she were searching for something. _Her dead sister?_

Andrea noticed Daryl as he emerged from the R.V. She went up to him. "What are you doing up so late?" She asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Daryl said.

She sighed. "I just... can't sleep." She said finally. "What about you?"

"I'm going to look for Sophia." Daryl said, slinging his crossbow on his back.

"Can I come too?" The question took Daryl by surprise. He looked at Andrea. She had a serious expression on her face, waiting for Daryl's reply. Daryl sighed, not really caring whether she tagged along or not.

"Fine, sure, whatever." Daryl huffed and proceeded to walk out of the property, with Andrea close behind him.

They had gotten halfway into the forest when Andrea and Daryl started a quick conversation. It was nothing important, just trivial bits of life before, though Daryl let Andrea do all the talking. He wasn't exactly a talkative guy. Although Daryl did spout a story about when he was lost in the forest a kid, something Andrea seemed to have some interest in. However, the conversation took an interesting turn when she mentioned Sophia's name.

"I just don't know if she's alive. I mean, she's just a little girl alone in the dark forest. I don't think that she can do this all by herself." She said softly. Daryl grunted.

"Why are you such a downer about it? She could be fine, hell, I was fine when I was young."

"Well, you and Sophia had... different childhoods. She's not as strong as you are."

Daryl huffed. "Maybe. Maybe not. Ya never know." He turned to face Andrea, curiosity getting the better of him. Andrea wasn't Daryl's favorite, crap, in this fucked-up group where everyone was afraid of him and his brother, it was hard for Daryl to actually care about someone in this group. But with Andrea, he didn't really dislike him, she was the only then he could slightly tolerate. Everyone else just pissed him off. (Well... except Glenn... but Daryl thought of him as an 'exception'.) Daryl knew how crushed she was when her sister was taken out, and how empty and void she was when she gave herself up to the CDC. But what surprised Daryl the most was how she hadn't snapped so far, how she didn't pull the trigger on herself yet. Maybe it was because of Dale keeping his eyes on her or something, but there were more than one way to kill you, so why didn't she give up? "Mind if I ask ya something?" Daryl said suddenly.

Andrea raised an eyebrow. "Sure, what is it?"

"Do you really want to live?"

Andrea stared, surprised Daryl would ask such a thing. She pressed her lips together, clearly unwilling to answer hi question. Daryl sighed, not expecting an answer anyways. It was a stupid thing to ask anyways. "Its fine, ya don't have to if ya don't want to." He continued along the forest trail.

"How about a trade?" She asked. Daryl paused, intrigued.

"What do ya mean, trade?" He asked.

"I ask you a question, and you ask me a question. Then we both answer. A trade of information, if that's fine with you." She blinked. "How about it?"

_Hmm... What's the worst that could happen? I don't have anything too interesting to tell anyways._ "All right, sure then. Ask me a question."

"Do you know what Glenn's hiding from us?"

_What- Oh fuck... Maybe I should've thought a bit more. No, just play dumb first, see how she knows something's up. _"Where'd ya get that idea?" He asked, a hint of malice in his voice. Andrea met his heated glare with one of her own.

"I may be a mess right now, but I'm not stupid. That boy... He's up to something. I know it. He runs off and Rick, Shane and you are just so desperate to find him. I understand if Rick is concerned, but Shane? He wouldn't risk it for some kid he barely knows. I know that much. He's important, isn't he? That's why you're always watching him, right? That's why Jenner told you to keep him safe."

Daryl was left speechless for a moment, impressed with her observation skills. "You fucking smartass bitch..." He murmured. "But how did ya know that Jenner-"

Andrea rolled her eyes, "I was there, I was present when he said that. Dale was too, but he seemed too distracted with Jaqui and me." She took a breath, her ice blue eyes staring right through Daryl. "So, you going to tell me or what? Do you know what he's hiding something from us?"

He hesitated, unsure, but since he gave his word to tell her... "... Yeah, yeah I do." Daryl admitted, hoping that Glenn would never hear him admit this.

"And what is it?"

"You only wanted to know if I knew, not what it was exactly!"Daryl snapped, not wanting to reveal more than he had to.

Andrea pouted, "Fine... Fine you got a point."

"You better keep it to your damn self or I'll be angry as hell." Daryl snarled, his eyes gleaming like a predators. Andrea didn't seem too fazed by his threat.

"Yeah, I know, I will." She promised.

"Good... Now..." Daryl crossed his arms. "Are ya going to answer my question or not?"

She sighed, her fists tightening and her eyes growing a bit misty. "I don't know if I want to live... or if I have to or if it's just a habit."

Daryl snorted, stomping away, leaving Andrea with a look of surprise on her face.

"Not worth telling you all that shit."

* * *

**All right... Let's hope. Can update soon. :D**

**See ya next time! :)**


	6. Another update :(

Here we go...

So... Due to technical problems, (First the Internet connection is severed and now my stupid laptop can't read the USB stick...) Updates are going to be...more delayed. At least by... Tuesday? Wednesday? Nect time I update one of my stories? i hope this works, i just need a new computer... -_-

I'm sorry... :( Your all pretty pissed, aren't ya? But hey, suspense, isn't it fun thing? To just sit there and wait in excitement? :D

Actually I hate suspense... So yeah, I understand if you're upset, I'm sorry. :(

so... I will see you when I update... Whenever that may be... :|


	7. Sorry

**I'm not going to bullshit you here, but you have to know this guys.**

**The day after I posted the last update chapter, my family found a friend to fix our computer..**

**He did so by wiping the memory.**

**I had two chapters there... Gone. Erased. One of them were eleven pages. And I lost it.**

**So I've been in shock for a while, because that's a lot to lose.**

**I Need a break from the walking dead fandom anyways, I can't do this guys, I've burnt out all my walking dead ideas and stuff. i can go only so long, you know? With exams coming up, volunteering, drivers Ed, end of school and all of that, it's getting busy...**

**I'll be around, just not in this fandom. I want to try new places, new ideas, you know?**

**I will come back to finish whatever I have to, one day... I just can't right now.**

**However, if you're really curious, PM me and I'll spoil whatever you want spoiled. **

**I'm sorry.**

**Really sorry.**

**Well... Bye for now.**


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